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SAVING GARDEN SEEDS
Varieties
to save
Seed savers
should only select plants from which to save seed that exhibit the
best qualities of the selected variety, AND also from the variety
which grows best in their particular microclimate. The best way
to illustrate this is by giving an actual example. Green (snap)
beans should mature early, produce pods which delay seed formation
in the pod, and produce pods for the longest period of time, while
also being resistant to various indigenous bugs and diseases. About
9 years ago I ran trials of a dozen different types of bush green
beans, and found that in my microclimate (10 miles from the Pacific
Ocean), Eastern Butterwax snap beans were the clear winner in all
of those categories mentioned above. Those plants which produced
the strongest stem and produced the earliest pods were marked with
yarn and NOT picked, but rather the first pods produced were allowed
to grow to full maturity and then saved for seed. Each year since
then I have followed the same procedure, and I now can grow a snap
bean which is especially selected for my microclimate and soil conditions.
A good way to
find "old traditional" seed varieties for your area is to talk to
your elderly gardening neighbors. You'd be surprised at the number
of depression-era folks who still save some seeds from year to year."
Asking around
some years ago, I found a family who still grew pinto beans from
seed which were brought to our valley in Oregon by covered wagon
in 1953. Normal pinto beans require a soil temperature of 60 F to
germinate, and require in excess of 65 days to maturity (in cool
climates). The saved seed from the old pinto beans will germinate
at 57 F, and complete maturity in 58 days or so. Considering my
garden is in a clearing in a rain forest, and cool weather and short
summers normal, this old variety of seed has given me a reliable
way to grow pinto beans which can be harvested before the fall rains
start!
These same seed-saving
measures can be used for many types of seeds. My fava bean seeds
have been acclimated for over 10 years, and I can actually grow
them over the winter for an early summer harvest. For cabbage, I
acclimated a Dutch Market variety which will mature in 75 days,
so I can plant rows in succession for staggered maturity dates,
and I don't have to make all the kraut at once. Later plantings
of cabbage can be grown in the same place the favas were harvested,
thus taking advantage of the nitrogen-building characteristics of
the favas.
SAVING
SEEDS
"If saving seeds,
do you find it necessary to store them in an airtight container
for better preservation?"
No, I do not
save seeds in airtight containers. The seeds are picked for saving
when fully mature, graded, dried by natural convection in a wire
basket, then stored in paper bags or envelopes marked with variety,
year and month harvested, etc.
Larger seeds,
such as beans, are stored in canning jars with used, ill-fitting
lids, and stored in a warm, dark room. The reason for this latter
method is for determining the quantity to be kept for planting:
a pint of both green bean and pinto bean seeds, and at least a quart
of each fava variety -- large (Aquadulce Claudia) and small (Banner).
Some large seeded varieties of brassicas (such as chard) are also
kept in pint jars.
Don't forget
that God intended that seeds were to be kept in an open atmosphere
for storage, so they could go through natural stages needed to germinate
properly. That means sometimes we must fool the seeds to make them
think they have gone through an entire winter in hibernation, if
we intend to plant them again in weeks or months of harvest. Chard
seed, for example, can be harvested in early fall, then planted
again about the middle of September (in some climates) for an all-winter
green. But for the best germination results when planting again
soon after harvest, I freeze the seeds
for a week prior to planting, which hastens the natural cycle and
germination is normal.
Saving your
own seed can be a lot of fun, but it requires advance preparation
and thinking. I can grow different varieties of some plants without
crossbreeding, but only if I plant the species in different garden
plots on opposite sides of my
beehives. If the bees are flying in
one direction to a floral source, they don't care if they fly another
100 feet or so to the same flower of a different variety: Compositae
(sunflowers) are particularly susceptible to cross-pollination due
to this factor.
Added
by Farmerik
Some seeds
are produced the second year a plant grows, like these onions.
They survived the winter in my garden, and I moved them into
the new rows I made this year. On top of the stems you can see
a bulb like formation. Later in the summer, these will have
tiny blossoms all over them. After they have been pollinated,
and the blossoms have gone by, we will cover the top of each
stalk with a sock like bag made of a very fine mesh.
Synthetics work best for this, because they do not absorb
moisture. The shear fiberglass curtains which used to be
popular can be used to make these, or women's nylon hosiery.
Once the seeds are mature, they will fall off into the bags.
Parsnips, carrots, cabbage, beets and many other crops are
collected this way. You do have to watch them; you need to
bring them in before they get rained on. Onions and parsnips
have seed which does not keep well. You should collect it
every year. Lettuce and spinach bolt, or begin to go to seed
the first year. Save these seeds the same way, but choose the
last ones to go to seed, since it also ends the harvest. -
FARMERIK
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